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Three seats are up on the Frisco school board, one of which is to fill an unexpired.

Trustee Chris Todd said he won’t seek reelection for his Place 6 seat after serving only one three-year term. Todd said he made the decision to spend more time with his family.

“The demands of sitting as a board member are great,” Todd said. “With my job and my family, I just felt I couldn’t give the district the amount of time it deserves right now.”

Trustee John Classe, a financial planner, filed to run for Todd’s seat. Classe currently serves in Place 3. The board appointed him in June to full the unexpired term of longtime trustee Dan Mossakowski, who resigned for family reasons. That appointment was only good until this May.

Now the remaining year on the Place 3 seat is up for grabs. So far three candidates are vying for the post. They are Srikanth Gurrapu, a business manager; Bryan Powell, a civil engineer; and Chad Rudy, a financial advisor.

Meanwhile, trustee John Hoxie, who has been on the board since 2009, is being challenged by Rajesh Singh, a real estate agent.

The deadline to file for places 6 and 7 is 5 p.m. on Friday. Because filling the Place 3 seat is considered a special election, the filing deadline is extended to March 9.

In a split vote, trustees approved modifying the name of a new Frisco high school but the decision still upset some opposed to having “Lebanon” included.

Last night trustees amended the name of what will be the district’s ninth high school to Lebanon Trail High School.

Trustees previously approved the Lebanon name but officials said a change was needed to avoid confusion “LHS” with another district high school, Liberty.

About two dozen parents and students attended Monday’s board meeting to oppose the name.

The Lebanon name was selected to honor of the former community and Lebanon School that predated Frisco by about 50 years, officials said. The name still is visible in the area, included on a major road, a church, a subdivision and others. The school, being built just off Lebanon Road and Ohio Drive, is scheduled to open in 2016.

But some have opposed the Lebanon name for the high school saying it doesn’t reflect the community or that it is more commonly associated with the Middle Eastern country that is often in the midst of turmoil.

Father Robert Mays said some have portrayed the opposition to the name as racial, which he said was not the case. He said the community was expecting an American-themed name inline with other Frisco high schools – such as Liberty, Independence and Heritage.

Freedom High had been circulated as a possible name, but Lebanon seems out of place, he said.

“It’s not part of the idea of what we thought Frisco would be,” he said. He added that a name like Lebanon Memorial would have been more appropriate as it referred to the area’s history more clearly.

The group was audibly upset when later in the evening trustees approved naming the district’s 10th high school in north Frisco Memorial in honor of veterans.

One seventh-grader who expects to attend Lebanon Trail said students should have had a say in the name.

“We just want something to look forward to going into our high school years,” the student told trustees.

Trustees John Hoxie and Bryan Dodson voted against amending the name saying the “LHS” confusion would be minimal and that Lebanon should be “all or nothing” as there is not a Lebanon Trail.

Meanwhile, Frisco has a Memorial Stadium. Trustees indicated that they will consider renaming that to avoid confusion with the high school, which is set to open in 2017.

Frisco's growth means constant construction of new schools. Now the district is developing a plan to take FISD to 2020.

Should Frisco high schools be bigger? Does the district need more specialized programs? What are the glaring gaps you see?

As Frisco continues to grow at unprecedented rates, the district is launching its strategic planning process to help take the pulse of what the community wants from its schools and develop a five-year plan to take the district to 2020.

Last night school officials said they are considering options to alter Lebanon High School’s name in order to avoid “LHS” confusion as the district already has Liberty High School.

Spokeswoman Shana Wortham said another name will be added on to Lebanon, possibly the word “Community” in reference to the Lebanon community that predated Frisco. She said the move was not in response to residents who oppose Lebanon name together.

In December, a mom spoke to Frisco trustees saying the name evokes sadness as it’s more commonly associated with the Middle Eastern country often in the midst of turmoil. Though she has lived in the area for some time, she said she only recently learned of the local reference.

“The Frisco historical reference is nice. But the present-tense name of a country that was in the news all the time with reference of war and battle ground was always what was on my mind when I would say the name Lebanon ,” Liffey Skender told the board. She added,

“The word Lebanon still reminds me of all the sad and turmoil that goes on in the Middle East.”

She urged the board to reconsider the name — possibly something like Freedom High School — and presented e-mails from others opposing the name.

Hundreds of families the Wakeland and Frisco High zones will now have to attend Reedy with some families being split. But Frisco ISD wants families to know everything will be okay.

At least, that’s the message in a district-produced video called “Voices of Change.” The video has interviews with various students and parents (including one city council member) who have previously been impacted by rezoning changes in Frisco.

The video paints a rather cherry picture of how these families adjusted to life at a new campus or to having sons attend two different high schools. The challenges are briefly discussed with the district focusing instead on the good aspects of rezoning. Much of the video has students and parents talking about the opportunities they found at a new school, such as leadership opportunities or new friends.

They opposed the so-called temporary zoning option, which would zone students in some neighborhoods out of Wakeland to the new Reedy for one or two years. But other students — even those in the same family — would be zoned back to Wakeland. Meanwhile, some families at Emerson Apartments were upset to learn that they are being rezoned from Wakeland to Frisco High.

In other proposed changes, officials want to rezone families in Little Elm from Wakeland to Lone Star to help even out enrollment in the northern part of the district.

Options have been discussed to help limit the impact on families, but trustees have said tough decisions will have to be made.

Trustees are also adjusting some elementary and middle school attendance zones. But the special meeting will focus solely on high school zoning.

Concerns about tunnels and splitting up families and neighborhoods were the key objections to proposed rezoning plans discussed at last night’s Frisco school board meeting.

The long board meeting covered proposed rezoning options for some elementary, middle and high schools next year. The discussions went well into the night as hundreds of residents filled the board room, sitting along the aisles and overflowing into the lobby.

Elementary objections

Google Streetview

Families at the Villages at Willow Bay are concerned about children walking through this tunnel to get to the new Norris Elementary.

The new Norris Elementary is set to open with its enrollment drawing from Mooneyham and Ashley elementary schools. But families in the southern portion of the Villages at Willow Bay oppose the change saying it breaks up the neighborhood with the attendance zone boundary cutting through alleyways.

Many are particularly worried that transportation will not be provided to all in Willow Bay when students walking to Norris would have to cross various hazards, including an underpass at Eldorado and Independence parkways that would have them walking below the busy streets. Parents said the tunnels are too secluded for youngsters to walk alone and get even more dangerous to walk through when it is raining.

“It is not safe for our children to walk to Norris past Heritage High School, a fire station, through tunnels and down these very busy streets two miles. … Two crossing guards cannot protect our children,” said parent Kelley Hornsby, referring to discussions to have guards at the tunnels.

She also suggested the district offer open enrollment at Norris so that families can opt in to that school, making room for others at Mooneyham.

Little Elm concerns

Families from the Marina Vista and Eldorado Estates are proposed to be rezoned from Wakeland to Lone Star beginning with next year’s freshmen and sophomores. Officials said the hope is to make that a permanent (as far as “permanent” can be in the ever-changing Frisco) zoning for the Little Elm neighborhoods.

But representatives from those areas objected saying that their families are bonded with those south of Eldorado Parkway.

Parent Steve Nickolyn said families are used to zoning changes and understand the growth as they had been rezoned numerous times over the years. He said the families in that area should have been aligned to Lone Star when it opened but doing so now will only hurt children because they are invested with friends who will go on to Wakeland.

Postponing the zone change another five years to better align feeder patterns is the right thing to do, he said.

“That’s what we should be teaching our kids to do: what is right, not just what is easy.

Staying in Wakeland

Here are the updated attendance-zone options for the new Reedy High School, opening in August.

A majority of those in the audience were there to oppose what has been called the temporary zoning option, which would zone students out of Wakeland to the new Reedy for one or two years. But other students in the same neighborhoods — namely from The Trails and Meadow Creek — would be zoned back to Wakeland, which could split families.

Freshman Olivia Fortenberry said she currently participates in marching band at Wakeland along with her older brother. But under some options, she would go to Reedy next year with a younger brother being zoned back to Wakeland after her.

“This would make transportation too and from extra curricular activities a logistical nightmare for my parents,” she said. “My parents will have to choose between children and whose extra curricular activities they attend.”

Officials proposed three new options last night and are discussing the possibility of allowing families who would be impacted three or more years to stay together at Wakeland.

Yes to Reedy

And finally, some groups want to go to Reedy — namely families in Village Lakes and Park Place Estates. Those are the only two neighborhoods that attend Pioneer Heritage Middle School and would remain in the Frisco High zone rather than go on to Reedy.

Dan Huff, speaking on behalf of Park Place families, suggested allowing all the Pioneer Heritage neighborhoods to stay together at Reedy until future growth and zoning changes for other new high schools might deem it necessary. He noted that Frisco is projected to have enrollment concerns before Reedy does because of growth.

“Knowing all the future change when these new high schools are built – requiring new rezoning in the next two to three years – keep us with our feeder pattern until that rezoning has to be addressed. There is no reason to do it now,” Huff said.

Park Place Estates and Village Lakes are only 2 Pioneer Heritage MS neighborhoods not included in Reedy pic.twitter.com/x2wt2tgDIv

During last night’s rezoning workshop, much of the focus on how to draw lines to accommodate the new Reedy High opening in August focused on getting numbers down at Wakeland and Frisco high school.

“There is no solution that’s going to be presented that draws clean lines and opens Reedy at 9-10 (grades) that holds past two or three years,” Superintendent Jeremy Lyon said. “That’s our challenge.”

Numerous options were discussed, including one-time assignments such as zoning some Wakeland students to Reedy but noting students after them would be zoned back to Wakeland. Another option moved the eastern part of Wakeland to Frisco High, but then that would be complicated by numerous housing developments underway within Frisco’s zone.

Lyon suggested allowing next year’s freshmen and sophomores from Wakeland volunteer to attend another school regardless of where they lived.

Then he wondered if it would be worth asking Wakeland parents if they wanted the school to go to 6A level temporarily until another new high school in the north could offer relief in 2017.

To that, Wakeland parents in attendance cheered, yelling “Yes!”

But officials quickly said going to a 6A — even temporarily — would be more complicated than just allowing more students at Wakeland.

The state’s University Interscholastic League sets the 6A enrollment cutoff at 2,100 or more students. That determination decides which districts and zones schools compete in for athletics and fine arts competitions.

Frisco high schools typically have a 2,100-student capacity. Having 2,300 to 2,400 students would complicate not only classes but lunch schedules, parking, restroom facilities and more, said trustee Renee Ehmke.

Portables would need to be in place, and contracts with other districts could be at risk as sports schedules are set years in advance, officials said. Additionally, that would mean Wakeland would not compete against any other Frisco team in UIL and would have to travel for games.

“I don’t think we would be doing anyone a favor by doing that,” trustee John Hoxie said of a 6A Wakeland.

FISD officials plan to send a survey to Wakeland families asking more detailed questions about feelings for a 6A school, volunteering to leave Wakeland and other options being considered.

Trustees plan to approve new high school attendance zones in December. The proposed plans to accommodate the new Reedy High affect Frisco, Wakeland and Lone Star high schools.

Frisco culinary arts students will hold a breakfast fundraiser to help Make-A-Wish North Texas.

On Thursday, Frisco culinary arts students will have their annual “Waffles for Wishes” breakfast.

The students will be serving waffles, made-to-order omelets and fresh fruit during a fundraiser for Make-A-Wish North Texas. A silent auction will be available until noon that day.

The cost is $25 per person. RSVP at 469-633-6780. Breakfast begins at 9 a.m. at the Career and Technical Education Center, 9889 Wade Blvd. Last year, the event raised about $3,500 to help grant a wish for a Frisco ISD student.